New York, NY (BBN)- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon departs for Sri Lanka on Thursday to know the overall situation on the ground.
“Mr. Ban is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka tomorrow (Friday) for a two-day visit to get a first-hand look at the situation on the ground,” a UN press statement.
Earlier this week, Sri Lanka government declared that its military operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had ended, and that the remaining civilians that were caught up in the conflict zone in the country’s north-east had left.
Mr. Ban’s Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar on Thursday visited camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Vavuniya, where the majority of those escaping fighting are now living, and also saw the former conflict zone first-hand from a helicopter.
All IDPs have left the conflict zone and have gone through transit points, the Sri Lankan government said, adding that it has put the total number of uprooted people in camps at 272,000, out of whom 251,000 are in Vavuniya.
On Wednesday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees expressed concern over conditions in the camps, including overcrowding and limited services.
BBN/SS/SI/AD-22May09-3:44 am (BST)